As the Grateful Dead said, “What a long strange trip it’s been.” Season 2 of AMC’s Preacher never came close to a sophomore slump; in fact, it somehow improved on the sheer lunacy of Season 1. What started as both a quest to find God and a run from the Saint of Killers has ended with Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper) being groomed to be the new Messiah by Herr Starr (Pip Torrens), leader of The Grail. This new path did not fly well with Tulip (Ruth Negga) and Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun), each of whom has been dealing with serious issues without Jesse’s help much of the season. Tulip is suffering from PTSD after nearly being killed by The Saint (Graham McTavish) and Cass has been dealing first with his son Denis (Ronald Guttman) dying, and then a much more serious problem of freshly turned vampire Denis and his insatiable appetite. With that happening on this plain of existence, Eugene, aka Arseface (Ian Colletti) is trying to sneak out of Hell along with Adolf F*cking Hitler (Noah Taylor).

We’ve reached the penultimate episode of Preacher Season 2 on AMC and what a long strange trip it’s been. Our heroes were stalked by The Saint of Killers (Graham McTavish) from the opening scenes, dealt with fallen angels in the Mumbai Sky Tower, and are dealing with an organization bound to preserve Christ’s lineage, The Grail. Jesse (Dominic Cooper) faces a difficult question, should he continue his fruitless search for God… or use Genesis to become God himself. Herr Starr (Pip Torrens), leader of The Grail wants him to do that, especially after introducing him to the Messiah “Humperdoo.” Jesse’s quest has put distance between him and Tulip (Ruth Negga) who is getting closer and closer to Jenny, aka Lara Featherstone (Julie Ann Emery) of The Grail. Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun) isn’t around to help the “Padre” either, dealing with a newly turned vampire son. Meanwhile, Eugene (Ian Colletti) and Hitler (Noah Taylor) are trying to find a backdoor out of Hell…

Last week’s episode of AMC’s Preacher rubbed a few people the wrong way. The Catholic League condemned the show, and even former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin voiced her anger on Twitter. I guess an elongated sex scene involving Jesus Christ will do that… but let’s face it, if that’s the first time they’ve had an issue with Preacher, they haven’t been watching close enough. Jesse (Dominic Cooper) is taken to meet the Messiah by Herr Starr (Pip Torrens), leader of The Grail. The Messiah, however, leaves a lot to be desire, made obvious when he giggle pees on Jesse. Starr has an interesting offer for Jesse, but Jesse has other problems. Tulip (Ruth Negga) and her new bestie Jenny are bonding and Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun) is learning to on the fly to be a dad to newly formed senior citizen vampire. The biggest problem, however, is that Tulip found the Saint’s (Graham McTavish) weapons that Jesse hid from her, after promising to destroy them and send him to Hell.

Last week on AMC’s Preacher, The Grail narrowed in on Jesse Custer and his small band of heroes. Lara Featherstone (Julie Ann Emery) and Hoover (Malcolm Barrett) continue to surveil the trio from down the hall, while Herr Starr (Pip Torrens) cuts straight to the point, and meets Jesse face to face. Jesse (Dominic Cooper) has totally disconnected himself from Tulip (Ruth Negga), who continues to suffer from PTSD following her encounter with the Saint of Killers. Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun) is dealing with issues with having a freshly turned vampire son, as Denis (Ronald Guttman) gets accustomed to his newfound eternal life. This week, The Grail seeks to use Jesse to further their goals…

Last week on AMC’s Preacher, our three heroes continued to grow apart from one another and fall deeper into individual downward spirals. Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper) is short 1% of his soul after using it to dispatch The Saint of Killers (Graham McTavish), and that has him ignorant to the obvious needs of those closest to him, his focus on finding God turning into obsession. Tulip (Ruth Negga) is dealing with PTSD after her near death experience at the hands of the Saint, and her guard is lowered so much that when face to face with Lara Featherstone (Julie Ann Emery) of The Grail, she makes friends. Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun) is tortured the harshest, perhaps. A vampire, who knows all too well the horrors of eternal life, is suffering through the choice of whether to save his dying son Denis (Ronald Guttman) with a bite, or let him die naturally. Tonight, with the three of them divided, The Grail moves into position to take out Jesse and Genesis.

Last week on AMC’s Preacher we finally peeked behind the curtain of The Grail. The Grail is religious cult-like organization with one mission: protect the Jesus Messiah mythos by circling the globe and annihilating all other “godly threats.” Last week, a floating pig in Vietnam was being worshipped by villagers and Herr Starr (Pip Torrens) arrived to clean the mess up. Torrens was electric last week as we watched his ascension from potential Grail employee to leader of the organization. Jesse (Dominic Cooper), Tulip (Ruth Negga), and Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun) are still in New Orleans searching for God, having dealt with the threat of the Saint of Killers (Graham McTavish)… for now. But all of them are preoccupied by their own personal demons to focus on the mission at hand.

Last week on AMC’s Preacher, our trio of heroes solved, albeit temporarily I’m sure, their problem with The Saint of Killers (Graham McTavish). After doing some good ol’ fashioned library research, Jesse (Dominic Cooper), Tulip (Ruth Negga), and Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun) figured out why Genesis doesn’t work on the Saint… he has no soul. After some liberal usage of Genesis, Jesse is able to take part of his own soul to give the Saint and suddenly, he is under Jesse’s control. Jesse takes no chances, imprisons the Saint in the back of a truck, and sinks him in the bayou. We also learned that Cassidy is more complex than once thought, as he revealed that crotchety old Denis (Ronald Guttman) is actually his son.

Last week on AMC’s Preacher, our three motley heroes faced different challenges. There was no dodging unkillable cowboys from Hell or hunting down God. Last week was about Jesse (Dominic Cooper) making a decision whether or not to kill Viktor (Paul Ben-Victor) aka Tulip’s husband. Jesse was fueled by jealousy and revenge. Tulip (Ruth Negga) could only stay back and hope Jesse didn’t cross the line and as usual, Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun) was stuck between his rock and her hard place. Jesse made the right call, letting Viktor live after signing divorce papers, and the trio appeared back on track. Unfortunately for everyone involved, especially Viktor, The Saint of Killers (Graham McTavish) made it to New Orleans and is one step closer to getting his Preacher once and for all.

Previously on AMC’s Preacher, the search for God carried our three heroes to New Orleans. Jesse (Dominic Cooper) cruised jazz clubs, running into sultry blonde Lara Featherstone (Julie Ann Emery). He rescued her from a van full of white clad goons, and rescued himself from her advances. Tulip’s past caught up to her via an army of henchmen that brought her to Viktor (Paul Ben-Victor). Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun) finally caved and revealed to Jesse that Tulip (Ruth Negga) was missing, which set Jesse off on a crusade. He unleashed the power of Genesis to save Tulip from Viktor… her husband. Meanwhile, Jesse’s jealousy, fear, and rage all distracted him from the fact that The Saint of Killers (Graham McTavish) tracked Genesis, and he was quickly approaching.

Last week on AMC’s Preacher, the gang hit Bourbon Street in the jazz capital of the world looking for God. Jesse (Dominic Cooper) was left alone and getting frustrated when he got a tip to check out a lounge act, a sultry blonde named Lara Featherstone (Julie Ann Emery). Her attempts to flee Jesse land her in hot water as she’s kidnapped by a crew of white-clad thugs. Jesse uses the combination of Genesis and kickass fighting skills to rescue her, though we find out later, there is more to Lara than meets the eye. The real crux of last week’s episode was Tulip (Ruth Negga) and her anxiety at being back in New Orleans. She does NOT want to be there, her past is catching up to her, and at the end she has this cathartic moment where she seems to accept any fate coming her way. That fate is a goon squad sent by tonight’s titular baddie, Viktor.